


Something Like Atonement

by secondrobin



Series: Our Hearts Beat Together [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Autistic Mavis, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Step-parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-18 04:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12380469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secondrobin/pseuds/secondrobin
Summary: Mavis whispered, “I dreamed about the Hunger.”“The Hunger, huh?” John said. “That evil old thing? What about it?”“I dreamed about when the Hunger attacked. When I almost…”John wrapped both arms around her, embracing her as tightly as he could. “It’s okay, baby,” he said softly, “The Hunger’s been gone almost a year; and it’s never, ever going to come back, never again.”--When the Hunger goes, one thing remains.





	1. intrinsic

**Author's Note:**

> I'm super super into the idea of John getting to live and becoming a stepdad to Mavis and Mookie?? So, behold: an entire fic about that.
> 
> Fic contains Merle/Davenport/John as well as background Taako/Magnus/Kravitz, but the focus of the fic is the familial relationship between John and Mavis. Going to be about 4-5 chapters, most of which is written already!

 “Merle, will you sit with me? Just for a moment?”

Merle sat down, and they sat in silence. Too soon, the sun sank towards the horizon and Merle’s heart sank with it. “No,” he muttered.”

“What was that, Merle?”

“ _No_ ,” he said resolutely; and as the sun set in front of them, Merle threw himself at John and held him as tightly as he could.

When the Hunger went away, one thing remained.

The shadows and monsters disappeared, one by one, in a blast of blinding and powerful light. And then the light gone, and the crew of the Starblaster was reunited as Magnus, Taako, Merle, and Lucretia appeared—

And then something appeared between them. Laying on the ground, shivering and gasping and covered in dregs of inky black liquid that held none of the color or shine that they had all come to associate with the Hunger. Merle gasped, dropping to the ground next to him. He put a rough hand on the man’s face, turning it towards him. He blinked. He let out a soft, breathless laugh. “Just had to see me one last time, huh, buddy?”

John opened his mouth, but immediately dissolved into a coughing fit that sent more of the black liquid spewing onto the ground. Merle rubbed his back, muttering gentle words to him as he continued to cough.

“Sirs?” Angus called out as he ran up to them, “Did we—” He stopped short, seeing the man on the ground. “Who is that? Is he okay?”

Magnus and Taako immediately moved to get between Angus and John, Taako’s hand instinctively going to his side and faltering when he didn’t find the umbrastaff. Magnus scooped Angus up, holding him close as he stared down at the man who had caused this entire fucking mess to begin with. Taako took another step to get between them, and Lup and Barry followed him. Their postures all remained casual, hyperaware of not frightening Angus even as Barry and Taako reached for their wands and Lup’s hands curled into fists.

Lucretia hovered at the edge of the group, casual except for the tightened grip on her staff and the way her eyes scanned over the scene the way they always did when she needed to burn something into her mind until she got to a journal. Daveport, for his part, had remained entirely unmoving. He stared blankly at John and at Merle.

“Merle,” he said finally, quietly. “Is that—”

Merle nodded, using the back of his hand to wipe some of the black liquid off of John’s mouth. “Yup. Aha, uh…” he turned to the rest of the group, smiling nervously. “Everybody, meet… John.”

“… Hi, Mr. John,” Angus said quietly.

John threw up again.  
  


* * *

 

  
Merle woke up to soft sunlight hitting his face. He sighed, moving closer to John and burying his face in his chest to block out the sunlight. He heard movement behind him, followed by Davenport’s arm snaking around his waist.

“You two up?” John’s voice came a moment later, normally sharp enunciation dulled by the after effects of sleep. Davenport grunted in reply, and Merle pressed a soft kiss to his chest.

A knock on the door. “Are we all wearing clothes?” Davenport muttered. John gave a soft “mmhm” in reply. “Come in!”

The door creaked open, and Merle finally peeled his eyes open to see Mavis poking her head in through the doorway. “Dads?”

“Yeah, baby?” John asked, stifling a yawn.

“I had a bad dream last night. Can I get in bed with you for a little while?”

“Oh, honey, of course.” Davenport yawned, holding open the blankets for her.

Mavis ran over—stopping to close the curtains on the way, Pan bless her—and crawled into bed with them. After a few moments of awkward shifting, she was nestled safely in between John and Merle. John ran his fingers through her hair, and she closed her eyes with a soft sigh. “Do you wanna talk about it, Mavie?” She shrugged.

“It might help you feel better, baby,” Merle said gently. “But no matter what it was, you’re safe from it now, okay? Whatever was in your dream can’t hurt you, it isn’t here.”

“… I dreamed about the Hunger,” she said quietly.

 

* * *

  
  
“Mavis, Mookie,” Merle said, “This is John.” John raised a weak arm, waving at them from his place in the hospital bed. “He’s a good friend of mine and Dav’s—” Davenport made a soft grunt of protest—“and when he gets out of the hospital, he’s going to stay with us for a little while. Is that okay?”

“Yeah!” Mookie said, running over to the hospital bed.

Davenport intercepted him, stopping him just short of jumping onto the bed. “Careful, Mookie, he’s fragile.”

“I’m not _fragile,_ Drew,” John protested, giving him a half-hearted glare.

“Were you injured last month? In… in the Hunger attack?” Mavis asked. The room froze. Even Mookie stopped, looking between Mavis and Merle.

After a long moment, John nodded. “Yes,” he said, “It… almost got me. Your dad saved me.” He smiled, glancing over at Merle. “He’s a very good man. A hero.”

Mavis nodded. She hesitated a moment before walking closer to his bed—not all the way up to it, but almost there. “I was attacked by the Hunger, too,” she said quietly.

John opened his mouth to answer and immediately launched into a coughing fit. Merle was on top of him in a second, pressing a handkerchief up to his mouth and muttering to him. He turned back to Davenport, frowning. “Could you…?” he nodded towards the kids. Davenport nodded, quietly ushering them out of the room.

As they left, Mavis turned to take one last look in the room. And as her dad pulled the handkerchief away from John’s mouth, she could have sworn it had become stained black.

 

* * *

 

_“… I dreamed about the Hunger.”_

Merle’s eyes flitted up, making brief contact with John’s. He felt Davenport squeeze just a little tighter around his waist.

“The Hunger, huh?” John said. “That evil old thing? What about it?” His voice was casual, but Merle could detect the nerves running through it, the habit of carefully picking every single word and enunciating every syllable that he only went back to when nervous.

“I dreamed about when the Hunger attacked, when I got separated from mom.” She nestled in closer to John, one hand gripping his nightshirt so tightly Merle wondered if it was going to tear. “When I almost…”

John wrapped both arms around her, embracing her as tightly as he could. “It’s okay, baby,” he said softly, “The Hunger’s been gone almost a year; and it’s never, ever going to come back, never again. It was just… an evil, bitter old thing that needed to be defeated. But it’s gone, now, and you’re safe. We’re gonna keep you safe, forever.”

Mavis sniffled into John’s shirt. “Promise?”

“I swear.”

Davenport sat up, rubbing Mavis’ back gently. “We won’t let anything hurt you, Mavis.”

“Never,” Merle promised, “We’re gonna protect you, baby.”

She pulled back from John’s chest, smiling a little and rubbing away the tears in her eyes. “I love you.”

“We love you too, baby.”  
  


* * *

 

  
By the fourth time Mavis visited John in the hospital, Davenport had stopped looking so obviously distrusting. By the sixth time, he was talking and laughing with John when she came in; and by the eighth, she caught him pressing a kiss to John’s forehead as he bid him a temporary goodbye. Mavis spent the first half of the walk home in silence before finally speaking.

“Dav?”

“Yeah, sweetie?”

“Where’s John gonna stay? Like… what room is he gonna stay in?”

“Hm.” Davenport’s face remained entirely neutral. “Probably your dad and I’s room.”

“Okay.” Mavis was silent for another moment. “When dad said he was your friend… did he really mean friend? Or… are you like Uncle Magnus and Uncle Taako and Uncle Kravitz?”

Davenport let out a short laugh, reaching up to brush down his moustache the way he did when he was nervous. “Well… yeah, Mavie, I’d say it’s kinda like that.” He paused. “Is that okay?”

“That’s okay. John seems nice. And he makes you and dad smile a lot.” Mavis took a half-step closer to  Davenport, hand swinging down to hang lightly onto the edge of his sleeve. “Can I ask you something, though?”

“Yeah?”

“How come you didn’t… really seem to like him, at first? And why’d it change?”

“Hm.” Davenport sighed, fiddling with his moustache again. “I don’t know, it just… it just kinda happened, honestly, sweetie. I think… hm. I didn’t _dislike_ him, you have to understand, I just didn’t _trust_ him. Because… he had done some things in the past that made me wary of him.”

“What things?”

Davenport shook his head. “Things in the past. Things that he’s moved on from, that I don’t wanna hold against him anymore. So I was wary of him, but… damn. There’s just something about him, huh? I didn’t want to even like him, but suddenly I found myself going out of my way to talk to him all the time, and getting him little things I knew he’d like because he mentioned it offhandedly weeks ago. Going to him with my problems, and fears; going to him because I was lonely, because I missed him. He was my first thought in the morning and my last thought at night. He seemed to become intrinsic to everything I did—I couldn’t do anything or go anywhere without thinking about him because of it.”

“Oh. Is that… what being in love is?”

“Hah.” Davenport grinned, shaking his head slightly as he looked down at the sidewalk. “Yeah, Mavie. Yeah, it is.”


	2. blood.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn’t that she was afraid of John. In all honesty, she was really, really starting to like him—which was, possibly, the scariest thing of all. He liked to spend time with her, and he always listened to her, and he helped her with her homework. Being alone with him in the house for the first time just… made her a little nervous. She kept going back to what Davenport had said, before—that he hadn’t trusted John because he did something bad. What was something bad? And what if he did it again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two!!! starting to get into the Drama. gonna be about another 2-3 chapters after this, i'm still pacing the ending.

“I think there’s something weird about your dad.”

Mavis frowned, looking over at Angus. “What?”

Angus fiddled with the edge of his blanket, glancing over at Mavis before looking back at his notebook. He inhaled deeply, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and looked back at her. “I think something’s weird about your dad,” he repeated. “About John. Look…” He flipped through a few pages in his notebook, eyes rapidly scanning over his notes. “Merle said that him and Davenport knew John before they came to Toril, right?”

Mavis pulled her knees up to her chest, leaning her back against the wall. “Angus, where are you going with this?”

“He said that, _right?_ ”

“… Yeah,” Mavis sighed. “Yeah, okay, he said that. So what?”

“So _, my_ dads told me that they couldn’t bring anybody onto the Starblaster who wasn’t there originally. And their crew only had seven people—my dads, Merle, Davenport, Uncle Barry, Aunt Lup, and Aunt Lucretia. So he couldn’t have been from _their_ world, but he also couldn’t have been from any _other_ worlds. So how did they know him?”

“I don’t know!” Mavis shoved her glasses up on her face and rapidly tapped her fingers on the wall. “What are you implying, anyway?”

Angus sighed. “I don’t _know_ , is the thing. I don’t know how to make sense of any of this.”

“Then what—”

“Ango, Mavie!” Taako’s voice called from the kitchen, “Dinner’s almost ready, come set the table, mmkay?”

“Okay, dad, one sec!”

“Not _one sec,_ Angus, now!”

Angus groaned, closing his notebook and climbing off of the bed. Mavis joined him, refusing to make eye contact as they grabbed plates from Taako and began setting the table.

“Is dad coming home from the Astral Plane for dinner tonight?”

“Yuuup! And your aunt and uncle are, too, so set some extra places, ‘kay?” Taako grabbed a spoon, bumping the drawer closed again with his hip as he tasted the soup. He frowned, throwing salt in as he glanced back at Mavis. “Mave, sweetie, are you spending the night?”

“Is that okay, Uncle Taako?”

Taako gave the soup another taste. Paused, then nodded. He put the lid back on the pot before walking over to the table and ruffling Mavis’ hair. “’Course it is! Just for tonight, though; me and Mags both gotta head outta town on business tomorrow night, so Ango’s going back to the dorms for a week or—”

Reality momentarily tore apart. A rip across time and space, an impossible tear, a glowing portal between the realms of life and death. And from the portal emerged three skeletal figures, cloaked head to toe in gothic finery and carrying three long, wickedly sharp scythes.

“Dad!” Angus yelled, grinning and throwing himself at the tallest skeleton. The skeleton laughed, wrapping his arms around Angus as, slowly, dark skin and long dreadlocks and golden eyes materialized over the bone. “I missed you!”

“I missed you, too, Angus!” Human form officially regained, Kravitz shifted Angus to his hip as he met Taako in a quick kiss. “And I missed _you,_ my favorite elf.”

“Excuse me!” The second-tallest skeleton finished her transformation, blinking violet eyes rapidly as she adjusted to having them again. “ _Favorite_ elf. I’m _hurt,_ Kravitz!”

“My favorite elf _named Taako,_ then.”

“Technically,” Barry said as he fished his glasses out of his robe pocket, “He’s _also_ your _least favorite_ elf named Taako. Unless there’s a lot of elves named Taako I don’t know about.”

“Hi,” Mavis said quietly, waving at everyone. Barry looked over at her and grinned, leaning over to ruffle her hair.

“Hey, Mavie. How’re you doing? Have you been reading that book I lent you?”

“Yeah!” she grinned, “It’s really good. I really like learning about magic.”

“And gods knows your dad isn’t the best person to teach you about that!” Magnus grinned as he walked in, kicking the front door closed behind him. Mavis stifled a laugh behind her hand as Magnus made a beeline to Taako and Kravitz to kiss them both.

“Go change!” Taako scowled, though Mavis saw the way he had to fight down a smile. “You’re covered in dog fur!”

“I think it’s part of my rustic charm!”

“Go change your shirt or I _will_ burn a spell slot to magic missile you, hot stuff.”

Magnus grinned wider, kissing Angus’ forehead and waving at Mavis before jogging back to the room.

“Okay!” Taako clapped. “Tasks: Lup, salad. Barold, help me serve soup. Kravitz, slicing bread and lookin’ handsome—already good on that front, by the way. Mavie and Ango already served their time and can do whatever the f—heck kids like to do as long as it doesn’t involve leaving the table. Go team!”

 

* * *

 

Mavis hadn’t left her room all night. Mookie was getting one-on-one time with mom, dad had a long meeting with Artemis, and Davenport was visiting Aunt Lucretia.

“What if I go stay with Uncle Taako and Uncle Magnus and Kravitz?” she had asked earlier, perched on the edge of her dad’s bed.

“They’re all out of town, sweetie.” Merle paused, scissors hovering at the edge of his beard. “Way, _way_ out of town, in Kravitz’s case.” He resume his trimming, scrutinizing his beard from every angle.

“What about Antonia and Rowan?”

“They’re gonna be at the meeting with us.”

“What about… Hurley and Sloane?”

“They’ve got a race, and you know your mom doesn’t like you going to those.”

“I won’t tell her!”

“Mavis, no!

“Well, what about Uncle Barry and Aunt Lup?”

“Working with Kravitz.”

“Can I go with Dav to visit Aunt Lucretia?”

“You could’ve, but he’s already halfway there by now.”

Mavis cursed herself, fists balling up in her skirt. Merle frowned, setting the razor down and turning to face her. “What’s this about, anyway? Do you not want to be alone with John?”

“No, that’s fine!” Mavis had insisted, “I just… wanna get out of the house, is all.”

“Ah, well, I’m sure John will take you out, if you ask.”

Mavis had just shrugged, saying she’d consider it. As soon as her dad was gone, though, she holed up in her room and hadn’t left.

It wasn’t that she was _afraid_ of John. In all honesty, she was really, _really_ starting to like him—which was, possibly, the scariest thing of all. He liked to spend time with her, and he always listened to her, and he helped her with her homework. Being alone with him in the house for the first time just… made her a little nervous. She kept going back to what Davenport had said, before—that he hadn’t trusted John because he did _something bad._ What was _something bad_? And what if he did it again?

A loud, rapping knock. Mavis nearly jumped out of her skin, banging her head on the wall in the process. “Ow!”

The door swung open immediately, John rushing in and running over to her. “Mavis, are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m okay, I just hit my head, it’s okay—”

“Here, let me see.” John kneeled on the bed next to her, hands running through her hair and pressing against her scalp with a gentleness that she hadn’t been expecting. “No bump, that’s good. How hard was it?”

“Not that hard. I’m okay.”

He gave a small hum, looking over her scalp for another moment before nodding. “Alright, okay. I’m sorry if I scared you, Mavis.”

“You didn’t!” she lied, “I just moved too fast.”

“Hm.” He looked her over with his odd, piercing stare—the one that always made Mavis feel like he could see inside of her, like he could know what she was thinking. “I was wondering if you wanted to go out somewhere for dinner. I’m not a very good cook, you see, and I don’t want Merle and Davenport to come back and find I’ve starved their daughter.”

“That… sounds nice,” Mavis said, trying to convince herself that her first thought hadn’t been that having witnesses around would be good. “Where do you wanna go?”

“Do you like burgers?”

 

* * *

 

Mavis stared at the dark ceiling, eyes going over Angus’ glowing stars for the hundredth time as he snored on the other end of the bed. They were all in the shapes of real constellations, because of course they were, and she tried to trace the patterns. After going over them for the tenth time, she moved one of Angus’ feet further away from her face, closed her eyes, and tried—again—to fall asleep.

Ten minutes later, she sighed and made her way to the kitchen for a glass of water. She pulled the stool out from under the counter, climbing past the first step (labelled “Merle & Davenport” in Magnus’ handwriting) and onto the second (“Mavis & Mookie”).

“Can’t sleep?”

Mavis jumped, glass flying out of her hand. A glowing, spectral hand grabbed it before it could hit the floor, floating it gently back to her. “Thanks, Uncle Barry,” she whispered, filling her glass before climbing down and walking over to the table.

“Sorry for scaring you.” Barry pushed some of his necromancy books aside and lit another few candles with a wave of his hand, gesturing for Mavis to sit down in the same movement. She climbed up onto the bench next to him, leaning against his side and sighing. He wrapped an arm around her, tugging her closer. “What’s bugging you?”

“Nothing.”

“Nah, it’s something. You act just like Merle when you’re worried, you know that? You take after him.”

Mavis frowned, pushing her glasses up. “That doesn’t even make sense. He’s technically my stepdad, you know.”

“Yeah, but he’s the dad who raised you, right?” Mavis nodded. “So it makes sense you’d take after him. That’s what really matters, y’know. Him raising you, being here. Blood doesn’t mean sh—anything. Your family’s the people who stick by you no matter what.”

Mavis nodded, reaching  up onto the table to fiddle with the pages of one of his books. “Can I… ask you something, Uncle Barry?”

Barry frowned, shifting to look at her. Mavis looked up at him, eyes tracing over the lines on his face deepened by the shadows of dim candlelight. “Yeah. What’s up, sweetie?”

She took a deep breath. “I wanna ask you something about my dad.” She paused. “About John.”

 

* * *

   
  
“And _then,_ ” Mavis continued, mouth running almost as fast as her legs, “Kroslyn told Kathy that _I_ was the one who told Kynlen that Kathy secretly didn’t like her, even though it was _obviously_ Kroslyn! But Kathy _believed_ her _!_ Even though _everyone_ , including Kathy, knows that Kroslyn lies _all the time!_ ”

John nodded seriously, slowing his pace as he noticed how fast Mavis’ legs were moving. “But why would Kathy even believe Kroslyn when she knows that Kroslyn told your entire class her slumber party secrets during the harvest party?”

“Just because she doesn’t like me because she has a crush on Kristine and Kristine likes me more. So now nobody besides Kynlen will even talk to me.” Mavis stuck her tongue out. “It’s dumb. Everyone in middle school is dumb.”

“I remember that being _very_ true, yes.” John narrowed his eyes, staring up ahead. “I think the ice cream shop is open. Do you want some ice cream, or are you too full of burgers?”

“I don’t think I’ll _ever_ be too full for ice cream.”

John led the way into the shop, holding the door open for Mavis. Before she had stepped fully inside the shop, she froze. “John,” she hissed, “You see the dwarf at the table over there?”

“Mm?”

_“That’s Krosyln.”_

John narrowed his eyes. “Do you want to go somewhere else, Mavis?”

Mavis’ eyes flitted to the display case, eyeing the pistachio ice cream. “No, she said quietly, “Let’s just—be really quick, okay?”

John nodded, standing between her and Kroslyn as they hurried up to the counter. “Can I get a cup of amaretto and a sugar cone with pistachio, please?”

Mavis felt like this had to be the absolute slowest anybody had ever scooped ice cream in the history of the world. She bounced in place, hand coming up to grip tightly at the edge of John’s coat. He placed a hand on top of her head, and the pressure seemed to instantly relieve some of her anxiety. She let out a deep breath, moving closer to John.

“Oh my gosh, Mavis, is that you!”

Mavis groaned before forcing a smile on her face as she turned around. “Hi, Kroslyn.”

“Hi!” Kroslyn smiled brightly, “Ruined any friendships lately?”

“No,” Mavis grinned, “I’ve mostly been leaving that to you, Kros!”

John raised an eyebrow, looking between them. Kroslyn looked over at him, eyebrows raising as she took him in. “Who’s this? Some guy you have to pay to be your friend so you feel less lonely?”

“Actually,” Mavis gritted out, “He’s my stepdad.”

“ _Oh,_ ” John said softly, blinking. Mavis didn’t notice, focused entirely on her mortal enemy.

Kroslyn scanned him up and down, then scoffed. “Why does your stepdad look like an understudy for an understudy in a musical about an insurance office?”

“He does not!” Mavis protested at the same time that John muttered “What the fuck?”. “You just think he looks funny because you wouldn’t know what dressing nicely meant if it came to your house and burned all of the dresses you think are only ironically ugly!”

“Mavis!” John said, sounding more impressed than genuinely admonishing.

“Uh,” the tiefling girl behind the counter said, “I have your ice cream.”

John hastened to pay for it, handing Mavis hers. “Mavis, I think it’s time to go, hm? You shouldn’t waste your breath talking to people who aren’t worth your time.”

Kroslyn narrowed her eyes as Mavis gave her another smug grin and walked away. “Hey, Mavis,” she called when Mavis had almost reached the door, “How long do you think it’ll take before this one abandons you, too?”

A beat of absolute silence passed in the shop before Mavis’ ice cream was being shoved into Kroslyn’s face. “Take it back!” she yelled, “Take it back _right now!_ ”

“No!” Kroslyn sputtered, wiping ice cream off of her face. “You’re a _freak_ and I’m gonna tell _everyone at school about this_ and then your friends will leave and your stepdads will leave and you’ll be _alone—”_

“Do _not_ talk to my daughter like that!” John snapped, bending down to pick Mavis up. “Mavis, we’re leaving.” He shifted Mavis to one hip, using the hand that wasn’t supporting her to grab a small handful of gold coins and hand them to the girl behind the counter. “Sorry for the drama. And _you—_ ” he turned to Joslyn again, “If I ever hear about you bullying my daughter _ever again,_ there will be _consequences,_ and you _will not like them._ ”

With that, Mavis and John left the shop—Mavis trying not to cry into John’s jacket as they did.

 

* * *

 

“Where did you and dad and Dav and everyone meet John for the first time?”

Barry let out a long breath, leaning back and staring off at the ceiling. “Gosh,” he said carefully, slowly. “I… hm. I don’t, uh—I guess I don’t really remember—”

“Please don’t lie to me.”

Barry looked back down at Mavis. He sighed, pushing his glasses up to rub at the bridge of his nose. “Okay. Okay, I won’t. Here’s the truth, Mavis: our history with John hasn’t always been great. But it’s something John is trying to move on from, so it’s not something any of us want to bring up. He’s atoned. He’s atoning.”

Mavis frowned. “What did he do? Did he hurt people?”

“I don’t think it’s my place to answer questions about it, Mavie.” Barry squeezed her gently. “But I promise, if any of us thought he posed a threat to you or Mookie, we’d _never_ let him around you.”

“Okay…” Mavis nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Uncle Barry.”

Barry pulled back, ruffling Mavis’ hair as he squinted at the clock on the wall. “If you’re feeling better, it might be a good idea to get back in bed. It’s getting pretty late. Want me to walk you back?” Mavis nodded. They both stood, and Barry paused for a moment before bending down and scooping her up in his arms. Mavis laughed a little, clinging to Barry’s neck as he grunted and began walking to the bedroom.

He managed to get her in bed without waking Angus, carefully tucking the blankets in around her before kissing her forehead.

“Love you, Mavis. Sleep well, okay? And come find me again if you still can’t sleep.”

As he moved to leave, Mavis reached out and grabbed the edge of his sleeve. “Um,” she said quietly, “Actually, do you think—do you think you could stay in here? Just for a few minutes?”

Barry smiled. He moved back to the bed and kissed her forehead again before settling in on the floor next to the bed, hand up on the mattress for Mavis to cling onto as she drifted away into sleep.

 

* * *

 

In the five or so months John had known her, Mavis had never been particularly physically affectionate with him. He hadn’t pushed, figuring that if she ever wanted any, she would initiate. He seemed to have been more or less right—half an hour after they had left the ice cream shop saw Mavis still clinging to him, now curled up in his lap as they sat on the couch together. Mavis had been sniffling off and on the entire time without saying anything.

“Mavis?” he said gently, after Mavis seemed a little calmer.

“Mmhm?”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

Mavis sniffed, rubbing at her eyes with her palms. “Um… do you know a lot about what happened with dad and mom when I was a kid?”

“Nothing, really.”

“Umm.” Mavis sniffed again. “Before mom married Merle, she was married to this other guy. And they had me. But then when I was five, he… left. He abandoned us. And—” Mavis bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes again. John had never realized that heartbreak could feel so literal. “And I think it was kinda my fault? ‘Cuz he never really wanted kids, anyway. And then mom married Merle, and they had Mookie. And then—and then Merle left, too, when I was 11. And… and that means _two_ of my dads have left, so it’s probably my fault, and I’m probably a bad daughter—”

“Mavis, _Mavis_ ,” John interrupted, voice cracking. “Mavis, no, sweetie, oh—no, you’re the _perfect_ daughter.”

“But I talk too much!” she protested, crying again. “And I’m annoying, and… and now I have three dads but Kroslyn is probably right and you’re probably _all_ gonna leave.”

“Mavis, no. Look at me.” Mavis looked up at John, and he lifted up the bottom of his jacket to carefully wipe away her tears. “You are the _perfect_ daughter. Your first dad was just an assho—a bad person, sorry, a bad guy who didn’t realize how good he had it.”

“What about Merle?”

“Merle… Merle was maybe also not the nicest guy, when he decided to leave. Or maybe—I don’t know. I don’t really know the full scope of the situation, I don’t know _why_ he left. But I know it wasn’t because of you.” John finished wiping Mavis’ tears away and smiled a watery smile at her. “You’re not the reason why he left, but you _are_ the reason why he came back. I know that much. You are so wonderful, Mavis. None of us are going to leave you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Mavis leaned her head against John’s chest, closing her eyes and sniffling one more time. “Hey, John?”

“Yes, Mavis?”

“I had a really fun time tonight.”

John smiled, putting his hand on top of Mavis’ head. “Me, too, sweetheart.”

 

* * *

 

When Angus woke up the next morning, it was to find Mavis staring at him intently from across the bed. He was pretty sure that was what she was doing, at least. “Mavis?” he groaned, groping on the bedside table for his glasses and slamming them onto his face, and—yep, she was just staring at him. “Are you okay?”

Mavis let out a long breath, staring at Angus intently. “Angus,” she said seriously, “I need you… to help me solve a mystery.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! if you enjoyed it, i always really appreciate kudos/comments
> 
> next update will probably be in a few days 
> 
> find me on tumblr @ fullyrealized.tumblr.com


	3. how.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Angus!”  
> “What!”  
> “That’s my house,” Mavis hissed, “Why can’t we just go inside?”  
> “It’s important to observe subjects when no one else is around,” Angus whispered, “We might see him do something he wouldn’t do if he knew we were around. Nobody can know we’re watching him.”  
> “WHY ARE YOU IN A TREE?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> third chapter HERE WE GO!!! wanted to kick off real quick just by giving a HUGE thank you to everyone who's commented/bookmarked/left kudos. 
> 
> this fic is 1-2 chapters away from its close, and im planning on following it up with a fic about magnus/taako/kravitz and their little family. i'm planning on doing nanowrimo, though. i'm HOPING to get that fic whipped up before november and then be able to post it over the course of the month; but if i get too busy with nano prep, it might be put on the backburner until after nano.

Angus held the binoculars up to his face, holding a branch aside to peer intently at the window of the house about fifty feet away.

“Angus?” Mavis whispered.

“Shh. Mavis, detectives have to be _sneaky._ ”

“I know, but Angus—”

“He’s gonna hear us!”

“Angus!”

“What!”

“That’s _my house_ ,” Mavis hissed, “Why can’t we just go inside?”

“It’s important to observe subjects when no one else is around,” Angus whispered, “We might see him do something he wouldn’t do if he knew we were around. Nobody can know we’re watching him.”

“WHY ARE YOU IN A TREE?”

Mavis and Angus both screamed, falling off of the low branch they had been perched on. “Ow,” Angus muttered.

Mookie laughed, falling on top of him. Angus grunted. “I wanna do that! I wanna do that! Help me get up in the tree so I can fall, too!”

“No, Mookie,” Mavis said, pushing herself up and straightening her glasses. “Falling from trees is bad.”

“Really bad,” Angus wheezed. “Can you please get off me, Mookie?” Mookie didn’t move. Mavis climbed to her feet and picked Mookie up, setting him to the side before helping Angus stand.

“What are you guys doin’ in a tree!” Mookie asked, bouncing in place.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mavis said. “We’re just playing.”

“Can I play?”

“No, it’s a big kid game.”

“I’m a big kid!”

“Not big enough!” Mavis frowned. “Just go play inside, okay?… Mookie?” Mookie ignored her, transfixed on Angus’ binoculars.

“What are those for?”

“Nothing!” Angus held the binoculars tight to his chest. “Nothing, just—just—nothing! I’m not spying on John!”

“Angus!” Mavis cried.

“Oh, sh—sorry!”

Mookie frowned. “Why are you spying on daddy? Is it about his nightmares?”

Angus paused, looking over at Mookie. “Nightmares?”

“Yeah!” Mookie nodded. “I heard him the other night, cuz I couldn’t sleep, so I got up, and I walked past daddies’ bedroom, and daddy was yelling and crying really loud and then he said somethin’ about the Hunger and then he got up. And I asked if he needed a hug and he said yeah and so I hugged him.”

Angus whipped out his notebook, scribbling something down and nodding. “Interesting…”

“There you kids are!”

“Ah!” Angus jumped, dropping his notebook. John walked into the clearing, sleeves rolled up and dish towel thrown over his shoulder.

“Mookie, I told you to bring them back, not start playing!” He bent down to grab Angus’ notebook. Angus squeaked.

“Oh, no, I—I got that, Mr. John, sir, it’s okay!” he snatched it off of the ground, flipping the cover shut and shoving it in his back pocket. He grinned at John, twisting his hands in the hem of his sweater vest to stop them from trembling.

John frowned. “Are you… doing alright, Angus?”

“He fell outta a tree!” Mookie said, running up to jump on John. John caught him effortlessly, lifting Mookie up to sit on his shoulders. Mookie leaned on John’s head, grinning. “Then I jumped on him!”

“You fell out of a tree?” John frowned, carefully crouching down to inspect Angus. Glancing over at Mavis and noticing the dirt on her dress, he beckoned her over. He looked them over until he was satisfied that they weren’t too hurt. “Be more careful, kids. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Yes, dad.”

“Yes, Mr. John.”

“Good.” He smiled. “Wash up and come inside, okay? I’ve attempted to cook food fit for consumption.” He stooped to pick up Mavis, being careful not to drop Mookie, and then used his free hand to hold Angus’ so he wouldn’t feel left out. “Angus, I’m making a recipe I got from your dad; so don’t judge too hard if it’s not as good as his, okay?”

“I’ll try my hardest, sir!”

“Thanks, kid.”  
  


* * *

   
“Okay,” Angus said seriously. “Let’s try to look at this again.” He stood in front of the whiteboard he had hung in his dorm room, laser pointer hovering around the title—“THE JOHN MYSTERY”. Scribbled underneath it was:

WHAT WE KNOW

  1. IPRE crew met John before Toril
  2. John can’t be from their homeworld
  3. ?????????????



Mavis sighed. “Tell me again about the first time you saw him.”

“The battle against the Hunger had just ended. I ran up to everyone, and he was just lying there in this ruined suit. He kept coughing up this strange, thick, black liquid. I assumed he had been hurt really badly by the Hunger and it was an effect of that.”

“Right.” Mavis nodded. “And when I saw him in the hospital, he was coughing up the same stuff. But I don’t know what that means.”

Angus groaned, running his fingers through his hair. “This doesn’t make any _sense_! The only things that can travel through planar systems are the Starblaster and the Hunger. So how did John—” He stopped at a knock on the door.

Mavis frowned, glancing at Angus. “Are you expecting someone…?”

“No?” Angus frowned. “Not until Friday.”

Mavis stared at Angus. “Like… next Friday?”

“What?”

“Today’s Friday.”

Angus froze. Closed his eyes. “Oh, sh—” he muttered before the door slammed open.

“Ango!” Magnus yelled, running in and scooping him up. “It’s your favorite dad named Magnus!”

Angus laughed, clinging onto his neck. “Hi, Dad! Oh, dad, I wanted to show you something, over here, on that other side of my room…” As Magnus turned, Angus gestured behind his back, pointing urgently at the whiteboard. Mavis nodded, running over to the wall.

“Oh, shit, hey!” Magnus grinned, turning around at the sound of feet. Mavis froze. “One of the mini-Merles! How’re you, Mave?” He frowned, noticing Mavis’ expression and then following her path to the whiteboard. His smile dropped. “Oh, shit,” he exhaled. He stared for a moment before setting Angus down on the bed and gesturing for Mavis to sit next to him. She did, twisting her shirt hem in her hands as Magnus closed to door and then sat in a chair across from them. “One of you wanna tell me what this is about?”

Mavis and Angus glanced at each other. Their resolve held for a moment, and then broke simultaneously.

“Angus said that something seemed weird about my dad and nobody would tell us anything and—”

“Stuff about John wasn’t adding up so I wanted to figure it out and Mavis said we could—”

“Okay, okay!” Magnus held up his hands. “Hey, okay, I think I get it. You know something’s up with John, and you wanna figure it out. Right?” A pause. They both nodded, refusing to make eye contact with him. Magnus sighed, running his hand over his face. “I know… how you get about mysteries, Angus. And I’m sure this must seem very personal and maybe a little frustrating for you, Mavis. But… I think, at least for now, we all need you both to just accept that… there are some things you can’t have answers to. Not because it’s a dangerous secret, not because there’s any big conspiracy—but just because it’s a private thing that the people involved don’t want spread around. That make sense?”

They both nodded shyly. Magnus smiled, standing up again and walking over to set his hands on both of their hands. “Thank you. You two aren’t in trouble, and I won’t tell your dads, Mavis—but drop this, okay? So!” he sighed, grinning at them. “Glad _that’s_ over. I hate being the mean dad. How about we all go get some dinner and then I can drive you home, Mavie. Maybe there’ll be ice cream involved.”

“Okay!” Angus grinned, standing up to hug Magnus. “Can I have a few minutes to finish packing, though? I wanna make sure I get everything I need for the weekend.”

“Sure thing, kiddo. I’m gonna go out in the hallway and call Taako for a sec, okay?”

“Okay!” Angus kept up a wide, toothy grin until the door was closed. He dropped his grin, turning to Mavis with wide eyes and a deep frown. “Mavis?”

“Yeah?”

“I know we’re not supposed to try to figure this out anymore, but I think I just figured it out on accident.”

“What?”

Angus grabbed her hand, leaning over to her and whispering. “I think I know who John is.”  
  


* * *

 

  
John let out a deep sigh, eyeing the bottle of wine on the counter and weighing having a second glass versus having to actually get up and walk over to it. He glanced down at his two lovers, curled up together across his legs, and decided against it. Some things were just too perfect to disturb.

The door slammed. John jumped, arms instinctively curling around Merle and Davenport as the sound of someone running grew closer and closer.

“What was that?” Davenport jumped to his feet, Merle and John close behind.

“Don’t know,” John muttered, “Where are the kids?”

Merle inhaled sharply, turning towards the hallway. “I’ll go check—”

Mavis rounded the corner, skidding a little as she stopped. The three men let out a sigh of relief, visibly relaxing.

“Mavis!” John said, “What are—Mavis? Honey, are you crying?” He took a step closer. Mavis took a step back. John frowned. “Mavis…?”

She stared at him, furiously rubbing the tears out of her eyes. “How could you?” she choked out. She turned to Merle and Davenport. “How could _you_?”

Merle walked over to her. She didn’t move away from _him,_ just glared at him when he got too close. He took a step back. “Sweetie, what are you talking about?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice as much as she could. “You lied,” she said, voice cracking. “You all _lied_. And—and you—” she pointed to John with a shaking hand, “You tried to _kill me!_ ”

“Mavis, _what_ —” John froze. Understanding lit up his face and he swore he felt his heart stop. “Oh. Oh, fuck. Oh, Mavis, I can explain—”

“Don’t! I _don’t_ want to hear it!”

Merle tried to move closer to her. She moved away from him this time, throwing another glare in his direction. “And you—you both _knew_! And you _loved_ him, and you let him in our _house_ and you let him get close to me and to Mookie and—” she sniffed, glaring at John. “And I _hate you!_ ”

John drew back like he had been slapped. “Mavis—” his voice broke. “Mavis, honey, please just let us explain—”

“No!” Mavis stumbled back, rubbing at her eyes again. “Go away! I’m gonna run away and—and I’m never gonna talk to you ever again!”

She sprinted for the door as fast as her little legs could carry her. It took her dads a moment to realize what was happening, a moment to run after her—all the headstart she needed to wiggle under the porch, hidden safely from view. She took a split second to steady herself before moving her arms the way dad had shown her. The cantrip activated, sending out a minor illusion of her running into the forest.

Her dads ran out of the house a moment later, yelling frantically for her as they ran after her illusion.

“Mavis!” John yelled, “Mavis, come back! _Shit!_ Gods _dammit!_ ”

“It’s getting dark,” Merle said frantically, “She’s going to be lost and alone in the dark; oh, she’s afraid of the dark, oh—”

“Calm down,” Davenport commanded, though Mavis could hear the waver in his voice. “We need—we need to find her, we need—“ he took a deep breath, “Come on, we gotta fucking _go.”_

Mavis waited until they were far out of sight before ducking out from under the porch and running in the opposite direction. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, not stopping until her legs and lungs were burning so harshly that she couldn’t imagine going on any further. She collapsed, panting, under a tree. And then, certain that she was alone, she finally allowed herself to curl up and cry.


	4. eated.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hurley and Sloane would probably let her stay with them; but Hurley was a _cop,_ so she also might feel obligated to tell her dads. She could try to find her way back to Neverwinter and use the extra key Angus had given her to sneak into his dorm for the weekend—maybe longer, he wouldn’t rat her out—but Lucas seemed like a snitch, so if he saw her sneaking in she was probably a goner. Bringing mom into this would just create more drama between her and dad. Magnus, Taako, and Kravitz would tell her dads, and Lup and Barry were probably out of reach in the Astral Plane.
> 
> Mavis leaned her head back against the tree and groaned.

It only took Mavis about 20 minutes to realize she had absolutely no plan beyond running into the forest. The immediate confrontation of her dads had been _extremely_ satisfying, but it also led to her running out of the house with nothing in her bag besides the few things she had brought with her to Angus’ dorm. She leaned against the tree, tracing idle patterns in the dirt as she considered her options.

Hurley and Sloane would probably let her stay with them; but Hurley was a _cop,_ so she also might feel obligated to tell her dads. She could try to find her way back to Neverwinter and use the extra key Angus had given her to sneak into his dorm for the weekend—maybe longer, he wouldn’t rat her out—but Lucas seemed like a snitch, so if he saw her sneaking in she was probably a goner. Bringing mom into this would just create more drama between her and dad. Magnus, Taako, and Kravitz would tell her dads, and Lup and Barry were probably out of reach in the Astral Plane.

Mavis leaned her head back against the tree and groaned.

She had been sitting alone in the dark long enough to consider going back home and dealing with the consequences when a planar rift opened beside her. The sight of the familiar portal relaxed her immediately. Uncle Barry stumbled out in his work clothes, heaving a huge sigh when he saw her. He immediately lifted up his stone of farspeech, muttering “Found her, she’s safe, let everyone know” before shoving it back into his pocket and transforming to his human form.

“Hi, Uncle Barry,” Mavis said quietly.

“Mavis—” Barry began, then cut himself off. He sat down next to her and cast a small spell, summoning a glowing ball of light next to them. Without saying anything further, he immediately pulled her into a hug. She climbed into his lap, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. “Mavis,” he sighed, “Mavis, honey, you had us all worried _sick._ ”

Mavis sniffed, trying to hold back tears. “Not _all_ of you, I bet.”

A beat. “You mean John, huh?” Mavis nodded. Barry sighed. “Mavis, honey… shit. I’m not great at this. Do you wanna just—talk to me about what you’re feeling right now, where you are? You’ve never really hit me as ‘run away from home’ type.”

“Well, that was before I learned dad—learned John is _evil_.” She sniffed again, pressing her face harder into Barry’s chest. He placed a large hand on top of her head, stroking her hair gently.

“Well… ‘evil’ is a strong word, huh?”

Mavis groaned. “That’s why I said it!”

“Okay, you—you got me there, yeah, okay.” They sat in silence for a moment. “I meant what I said before, y’know.”

“About what?”

“None of us would ever let John around you or Mookie if we thought he posed any threat to you at all.”

“But he destroyed _entire worlds._ ” Mavis sat back, frowning up at Barry. “He _killed people._ He almost—” her voice cracked, “He almost killed me.”

“I don’t… I don’t think that was him, entirely, but…” Barry ran a hand through his hair, looking off at a tree. He sighed again. “Mavis, I think… maybe you should talk to him. It doesn’t have to be alone, if you’re scared to do that—I’m sure your other dads would sit with you; and if you don’t want them there, then I can, or one of your other uncles, or one of your aunts, or Hurley and Sloane, or—” he laughed. “Shit, we have a big family.”

Mavis stifled a laugh against his chest. “Yeah, we do.”

“And none of us would ever let you get hurt. You know what?”

“I know. But…” Mavis frowned. “But even if everyone knew he wouldn’t hurt us _now,_ how did dads just… just forgive him for everything he did before? I don’t understand.”

“Well, Mavie, that’s something you’d have to ask them.”

“How did _you?_ ”

“Huh.” Barry sat in silence for a moment, staring off. Apparently satisfied, he nodded and turned back to Mavis. “Well, I guess the way that _I_ see it is… he was never really _evil_ so much as just… hm. I think he was less evil and more someone whose actions got way, way out of hand and out of his control. He started out controlling the Hunger, but I don’t think he was, by the end of it. And he caused a lot of pain, but—from what your dad and uncles said, it… sounds like all of those planes have been put back, now? Restored. And he’s… I think he’s trying to make up for it, now. I think what he’s doing here—trying to have a normal life, raising you two, I think that’s something like atonement.”

Mavis nodded, resting her head on his chest again. They sat in silence for a moment before Mavis spoke again. “Uncle Barry?”

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“Do you think you can take me home?”

Barry smiled, wrapping his arms around her tightly before clambering awkwardly to his feet. He gestured to the ball of light, bringing it up to float beside them as they walked. Mavis rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting herself relax into the rhythm of her uncle’s walk.

Before they were even out of the forest, Mavis had fallen asleep.  
  


* * *

 

  
Mavis woke up dressed in her favorite nightshirt in her own bed, blankets piled perfectly around her and stuffed animals surrounding her in the exact order she liked them. She slowly forced her eyes open, looking out over the room.

A figure was curled up in the corner. Mavis jumped, sitting straight up as thoughts of shadows and running and being left behind filled her mind—but no, no Hunger, it was just John. Or, no, he _was_ the Hunger. Wasn’t he? Whatever he was, it was hard to be intimidated when he was fast asleep in a position he very definitely had not meant to pass out in, face pressed against the wall and arms curled around himself awkwardly. Mavis turned to face him, watching him sleep for a moment.

“John?” Mavis whispered. He bolted awake immediately, looking over at Mavis with wide eyes.

“Mavie?” He sat up straight, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Mavis, sweetheart, hey. I’m so glad you’re okay, we were all so worried—”

“Why did you eat all those planes?”

John sighed. He stretched his legs out, looking over at Mavis with a deep frown. “Oh, Mavis, that’s… that’s a hard thing to explain.”

“Can you try?”

“I can try.” He bit his lower lip, staring at the wall for a few long moments. “On my homeworld, I had… a very, very inaccurate concept of the way the world worked. I felt nothing but dissatisfaction with the limitations of mortality, and I began to spread those thoughts to the people of my world. And my ideas spread, and spread, and spread, and—it turned us into something different.”

“How?”

“Hm. Mavis, when our entire family gets together—this household, the Burnsides household, plus Barry and Lup and Lucretia—how often do we all unanimously agree on anything?”

“Uh… never.”

“Exactly. And that’s… what, twelve or so people? Imagine the force of an entire planet—an entire _plane_ —all agreeing with one idea. A moment of perfect harmony that turned perfectly monstrous in a split second. We became the Hunger.”

“So… the Hunger wasn’t just you?”

“No. It was all of us. I acted as the avatar for it, interacting with your dad—with Merle—but it wasn’t all me. And in a way, it was separate from me, too. Like a child, like something I had created and now had an opportunity to care for. And we began devouring planes, and nobody stopped and wondered if that was the wrong thing to do because… well, because when you’re surrounded _entirely_ by people who agree with you completely, it’s hard to see when you’re doing wrong.” He shifted, leaning forward and resting his arms on his crossed legs. “And it was hard to see what we were doing as wrong when we didn’t even really view it as _killing_ them. To us, we were just… helping them ascend. Making them see things _our_ way.”

“And you thought your way was the best way?”

“Oh, Mavis, I was _certain_ of it.” He looked at her then with a sort of desperation in his eyes. A want, a pleading; a desperate desire for her, just for a moment, to see things the way he saw them. And she realized with a start that, in this moment, she _did._ She thought of all the moments in life she had felt dissatisfaction. Arguments with middle schoolers and arguments with Mookie and, stinging above it all, the feeling of overwhelming fear and abandonment. And she thought—if she could make all of that go away, if she could ascend, wouldn’t she?

John looked away. The moment passed. Mavis stared at her blanket, twisting it repeatedly in her hands. John sighed, leaning back against the wall again. Another moment of silence passed.

“I was wrong,” John said softly.

Mavis looked over. “Huh?”

“I was wrong. Your dad made me realize that.” He smiled, just a little. “And the rest of the Hunger… they didn’t particularly _like_ that. And they didn’t particularly _like_ me being unable to find them food for a decade. We weren’t just hungry, we were _ravenous._ And they… devoured me, I think. I wasn’t in control by the time we started attacking this world. I wasn’t even really _myself._ And then Merle, Magnus, and Taako defeated me—defeated the Hunger—and the Hunger was swept out of existence, and I was almost swept with it.”

“Why weren’t you…?”

John nearly grinned, now. “Because of your dad. Because of Merle. Because that _damn stubborn dwarf_ refused to let me go. He hung onto me so _damn tight_ that the rest of the Hunger was washed away, but I stayed. And he and Davenport let me stay here, with you. And Mavis, can I tell you something?”

Mavis leaned forward. “Yeah?”

“When he told me I’d be staying with his kids, I had no idea what to think. I thought… I thought that I could probably love you if Merle did, and that it would be the same kind of love I felt for the Hunger. I thought I knew what paternal love was. But oh, Mavis, I don’t think I even knew what _love_ was at all until I met you and Mookie.” He smiled at her, looking as if he was about to cry. “I love you two more than I ever thought possible. If there was any doubt left in my mind that the world really was the way Merle saw it, you two eliminated the rest of that.”

Mavis looked over at him. And the silence hung between them for a long moment before Mavis climbed out of bed and slowly walked to him. He looked up at her, impossibly still, eyes just a little too wide to pass for casual. Mavis climbed into his lap. He let out a short, choked cry, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly against his chest. “Oh, _Mavis._ I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m _so sorry_.”

“I know, I know.” Mavis pulled back, rubbing clumsily at his tears with her hands. He laughed, letting her try to help before wiping the rest away. “I don’t… I don’t think I can say it’s all okay, yet. Is that… allowed?”

“Oh, Mavis, of course. Of course it is.” He put a hand on top of her head. “You don’t ever have to.”

She nodded. “I don’t think I can right now. But… I think you're also still my dad.” John sighed, holding her close to his chest.

Come morning, Merle and Davenport walked in to check on them and found them curled in the same position. They looked at each other and laughed before gently waking up their daughter and boyfriend, coaxing them up with promises of eggs and biscuits. Mavis still whined a little. John whined more. But they finally got everybody around the table, yawning and stretching while Davenport moved plates of food in from the kitchen.

“Where’d you go last night, Mavie?” Mookie asked, midway through a bite of sausage. “Rowan and Antonia had to come and watch me and we played a lot and then they went home ‘cuz Uncle Barry came back with you and then I played with Uncle Barry and then he went home.”

“Um… don’t worry about it,” she said, “I just… um…” She glanced over at her dads, lost. 

“Mookie,” John said slowly, “I think… there’s something I need to tell you.”

Davenport and Merle whipped their heads around to stare at him, eyes widening. Merle raised an eyebrow. John nodded. Davenport raised both eyebrows. John nodded, harder. Merle and Davenport both sighed, settling back in their seats and watching John.

“What is it?” Mookie bounced in his seat. “Is it a present?”

“No,” John laughed, “It’s not, it’s… hm. Do you remember the Hunger, Mookie?”

“Yeah! It eated a bunch of places and it tried to eat us.”

“’Ate’,” Mavis corrected quietly.

“I…” John sighed, “To keep it simple, Mookie, I… _was_ the Hunger. I was part of it. I was part of the thing that tried to eat everything, and your dads stopped me, and then they rescued me from the rest of the Hunger. I understand if this is a shock to you. I know we weren't as transparent as we should have been. And if this changes anything, or if you're angry, I completely understand.”

Mookie stared at him, blankly. He burst into laughter. “You can’t do that!”

John blinked. “What?”

“You can’t _eat places_! That’s not allowed!” Mookie laughed harder. “You can’t—you can’t just _eat places_!” John stared at him for a moment before laughing. Then Mavis joined, then Merle, then Davenport, and then they were all just laughing hysterically. When they managed to calm down, John looked down at Mookie sitting next to him and placed a hand on top of his head.

“Mookie,” he said, “It—as funny as it kind of is, it’s also… a bit serious. I tried to eat everything. And if that makes you upset or angry or uncomfortable or makes you not… want to be around me, or anything, that’s—”

Mookie scoffed, clamoring into John’s lap. “You’re still my _daddy_ ,” he said, “You’re just my daddy who done eated everything.”

John laughed again, this time with tears welling up in his eyes. Mavis stood up from her seat next to Davenport and took Mookie’s former seat, leaning against John’s side. John wiped at his eyes. He clutched Mookie close to his chest and pulled Mavis against him, grinning over at Merle and Davenport.

“We have the best family,” he announced.

“We do,” Davenport agreed.

“So cute,” Merle grinned, “You could just _eat them up_!”

John threw a biscuit at Merle’s head. Mavis hid a laugh behind her hand. She looked around the table at her family. This strange, odd mess of a group; the cleric, the captain, the Hunger, and their two children. Mavis felt unbelievable affection, unbelievable _love_ bubbling up inside her. And under the love, hurt. The lingering sting of betrayal.

But John looked down and caught her eye, and he smiled at her. And Mavis felt a curious feeling: the pain of betrayal, but soothed by the knowledge that it was healing. That it didn’t have to be rushed, that forgiveness could come on her time. That everything, someday soon, would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THUS WE REACH THE END!! thank you so so so much to everyone who's read + left kudos + commented!! 
> 
> this isn't going to be the last work in this series--i'm currently about 4k into a fic centering on taako+magnus+kravitz's family with ango and their accidentally adopted second child. that should be up soon, and then i have a candlenights oneshot in this universe that i'm planning to get up in december. 
> 
> so hopefully i'll see you all then!! if anyone has any questions about this fic/this universe/the next fic, please feel free to leave em in the comments or send them over on tumblr. and again, thank you so much for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @ http://fullyrealized.tumblr.com


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